[4E] Ages of Athas

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling stops and groans, "No sleep? No rest? But... But... We're civilized people!" As he watches his companions continue on, not skipping a beat down the dusty road, Damakos sighs once more. He stumbles on forward, trying his best to keep up with his more athletic companions.

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Endurance: (1d20+3)[17]

[Tegu8788]

Calder

"And Damakos, and next time we are in civilization, we will behave like it. But for now, we run!" A bit of glee can be seen twinkle in his eye, his bloodlust for the elves mixed with his racial preference for running through the desert apparent. "Why don't you do something magic-like. Give us a light to guide the way or something." The half-elf continues to run without any issue, having spent much of his life toiling in the heat.

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(1d20+9)[17]

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling smiles, "I shall channel the power of stars to give us light where there was once none." He holds out his hand and chants, "Stars above, Athas below, give us light to find our foe." With that said, Calder's armor begins to glow and eerie green-brown color.

[Shular]

Huren

Huren sighs at the pace, but does his best to keep up, getting a boost from Calder's steady presence.

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Endurance: (1d20+6)[7] (+2 normal +4 from Calder's racial)

Despite the assistance, Huren is just not up to this sort of travel and quickly flags.

[Meltheim]

All - [Above the Iron Mines of Tyr]

The party's overland travel slows somewhat, as those less accustomed to the harsh conditions outside the city walls need more and more effort to keep up the pace. With a few stops for break and refreshment, the party eventually gets within earshot of the great Iron Mines of Tyr.

Iron, and all other metals in Athas, is a rare and precious material. The Iron Mines of Tyr have been sought after by the other City-States for decades, and more than one war has been fought over their control. For the time being, however, Tyr harvests the metal and trades it at exorbitant prices to those willing to pay them.

Stopping for another break, the party stands atop a ridge, looking down upon the vast mine. Acrid smoke billows into the air as the iron is mined, bloomed and smelted, slowly transforming from rough pig iron into fine bar iron. From there, wagons are hitched to Mekillots and then taken to the corners of the City-State by merchant houses. The party notes several small buildings and a large gate barring access.

At this point, it is impossible to tell whether the elves continued past the mines, or made their way down into the rough "village" at the mouth of the cave. By all estimations, however, the party has gained some ground on the elves, now slowed by their burden.

[Tegu8788]

Calder - [Above the Iron Mines of Tyr]

"I say we head down and check out that village. Perhaps someone there saw the elves, and if nothing else, we can resupply. I know I didn't start this trip expecting to be out here for this long without a caravan's worth of supplies." As he speaks, the butt of his trident is dragged through the sand, idly making symbols before marking through them and creating something new. As he finishes, he glances down at what he has done, and with a sneer, mentally blasts the sand, obscuring his absent minded doodles.

[Dimers]

Eveve -- [Above the Iron Mines]

"Yes. Resupply. Remember not to overload yourselves -- a weighty mistake if we must continue walking, and unnecessary if not. Just enough to get by. Purchase an animal if you want to pack heavy. Also, please keep your ears open when you speak with the locals. I will seek healers to ask whether they have treated anyone with battle wounds in the last day or two ... one more way of finding traces, if our quarry stopped here at the quarry." Eveve's eyes crinkle above her mask, showing she is smiling at her joke.

"We cannot hide our presence; travelers don't simply walk to the entrance of the Iron Mines of Tyr. In fact, we have most likely been seen pausing here on this ridge. We can, however, disguise our intentions until we have had a chance to find out about the elves we chase. Simply by playing up our tiredness -- not difficult to do after that hike! -- we can deflect questions for a time."

"Gather back on this side of the cluster of buildings when you have gathered what supplies and information you can."

[Meltheim]

All - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

The party redirects their route so that they move down the path toward the Iron Mines proper. As suspected, the large iron gate blocks their entry. The gate is guarded by a pair of stout dwarves and a couple of humans.

"What business do you have here?" one of the humans asks the group upon their approach. "We're armed and you don't look stupid, so hopefully you're not here with any intentions, if you catch my meaning."

Over the man's shoulder you can see that at least one of the buildings appears to be a general store of some kind. Beyond that, everything else appears to be either dormitories or related to the extraction of iron.

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling smiles as he thinks, Ah civilization, how I missed you. He then turns his gaze to the guards and m\ponders a suitable response for a moment before responding, "Resupply. Need some food and water. Maybe a bed, if it's available.

[Dimers]

Eveve -- [Iron Mines - Exterior]

The dwarf nods. In a dry croak she has practiced many years, she adds, "And a healer. We have wounds. Wh ..." She trails off in a wheeze, well-practiced from years of trying to appear inoffensive. She coughs and spits a thick, half-dry glob before finishing. "Where to go for healing?"

[Shular]

Huren

Huren stays silent. Instead, he carefully scopes out the gate and wall to see any particularly vulnerable spots for possible infiltration.

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Perception check to see if there are any parts that might be easier to climb than others, in case he ever needs to get in unobserved.

Perception: (1d20+10)[30]

[Tegu8788]

Calder - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Calder, despite being one of the first to arrive, manages to find himself near the back of the group, using his height to see over the shorter members of the traveling party. Having spent many hours in meetings back during his Templar days, he knows when to hang back. Putting on a neutral face, he stands in the back, waiting for the guards to decide whether or not to allow them entry into the mines. Kalak had a strong influence in the mines, but with his death, that was no longer a reliable means to influence those outside of Tyr.

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling tries to put on a cheery smile, to impress the guards as he waits in the heat of the day. Damakos eyes the general store, quietly imagining himself basking in the glorious shade provided by that amazing invention called a ceiling... "Oh, to be so close, yet so far..."

[Meltheim]

All - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Nodding his head as Eveve speaks, the guard interjects, "All that and healing besides, eh? Well supplies are tight ..." he says, chuckling to himself, "but they're always tight, eh? I'm sure we can find something for you. At the least, we can share some shade, and you're welcome to buy whatever you want in our shop. We get traders through here about once a week, from Tyr on their way to Urik. Sometimes we get lucky." he says, with a slight shrug.

The guard opens the gate and waves a hand, pointing out the various buildings to the party. "Don't worry, the gates are more for the wildlife than anything else," the guard offers to anyone questioning the lax security, doing his best to be reassuring.

Calder, remaining near the back, provides the perfect cover for Huren, who has picked up enough travel dust that he finds little difficulty blending in to the rock walls. As Huren scans the area, he notes that there aren't any real guards to speak of, other than here at the gate. The mines are down in a small valley, but the surrounding walls would be easy enough to scale, if need be. The uniformity of the small village provide consistent gaps and enough hiding for Huren to make his way around undetected, should he choose.

[SandDemon]

Lazam

Lazam manages to walk through with the group fairly quiet - it seems as if he's distracted or mentally checked out. Maybe it's the sun or the lack of rest...but few interject and try asking why because a fierceness in his face doesn't reveal a talkative attitude.

Internally, Lazam is struggling with a strange notion and..."need" to find the Heartwood splinter. He's not entirely sure why but the knowledge of such a powerful artifact from his homeland "lost" and with unknown destinations has him scared and almost beast-like in his search. Luckily he isn't hungry, or he might have found snacks...in his companions. As he enters the gates his eyes constantly scan for any sign of the elven raiders or their passing.

With the guard's recent statement of traders, Lazam lights up and he seems a bit unnaturally cheerful. "Traders about once a week huh....there wouldn't happen to have been some elves here recently were there?"

[Dimers]

Eveve -- [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Hearing Lazam start his inquiry, Eveve's mind races. More direct than I'd expected ... but the guards do seem open ... perhaps it won't hurt and will get us the information faster than subterfuge would. She focuses her senses on any hint that a humanoid has taken exception to the question. As a cover for her interest, she pretends to be hauling Gimp to his feet -- deliberately doing it the wrong way so that the kank resists and she has more time to watch the responses.

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Insight! (d20+9)[28]

[Meltheim]

All - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

"Elves, eh?" The guard scratches his chin as the party walks through the gates. "Recently? I mean, if they're here now, that's recent, right?" He glances at one of the other guards, who nods his head, then mimes a he's a bit slow sometimes sort of motion to Eveve.

Just as the first guard starts pointing to the building where the elves are staying, a huge blast of necrotic energy pulses out from the building, destroying the precious few windows. Gimp defecates on Eveve's shoe in surprise. Shouts start up across the entire village as people rush over to see what happened and to offer assistance.

[Dimers]

Eveve

"Sweet apathetic gods. By your leave?" As she asks this, she starts unstrapping her shield from her back and scrambling through the gate, leaving her smelly, startled porter behind.

[Shular]

Huren

Huren's dagger is in his hand before the debris from the explosion hits the ground. He begins to follow Eveve, but then slows down. The resistance used its fair share of diversions in Tyr, and it's possible the explosion was the elves' trying to distract everyone. He sends his second eye up and out, as he did in the desert, as he approaches the building, watching for glimpses of fleeing bodies.

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Sensing Eye, 25' out, to see as much of the back of the building (or the part of the building out of sight) as possible, changing the origin point as he moves.
Perception: (1d20+10)[12]

[Tegu8788]

Calder - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Hearing the explosion and feeling the familiar necrotic energy, Calder expands he stance with knees bent, shield sliding off his back and down his arm, trident spinning until it is held in a reverse grip so the spikes project over the shield.

Teeth bared, he snarls "It think it's safe to say our friends are here. Shall we go introduce ourselves again?"

[SandDemon]

Lazam

"The only introduction those elves will get....is a trip down the Dragon's maw if they don't give the artifact up!" Lazam sprints towards the explosion in a frenzy, running in complete silence compared to the usually vocal and loud battle cries of the foolish.....Lazam is from the Forest, where noise gets you killed. The fire grows in his eyes as he approaches, his civility and humanity stripping away as he runs harder and faster closely bent low and hiding his vulture-like descent.

Lazam....the beast approaches.

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling is immediately intrigued by the explosion. Perhaps it was caused by some form of magic? Perhaps he had a brother-in-arms that miscalculated one of the more delicate academical formulae. Damakos knew all to well how volatile Athasian Alchemy could be, he once destroyed an entire house by mixing the wrong ingredients. He wandered over with his companions to investigate the explosion. Damakos quietly mutters, "The crowd of people drawn to bare witness to the aftermath is a clear indication that this is not normal occurrence."

[Meltheim]

All - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

The first to arrive at the scene gasp, then cover their mouths. Many begin vomiting, crying, or some combination of both.

The earth is scorched. A broad spiral extends out from the center of the room, similar to that in the desert. Blood, organs, limbs and other things decorate the floor and walls. At the center of the room stands a chest. It surface is mirror-like, smooth, and deep black. The chest is closed, and appears undamaged.

[Felhammer]

Damakos

Damakos audibly gasps as he comes upon the frightening scene. Though he tries his best, he cannot pulls his eyes away. He scans the scene for anything that would lend a hint as to the root cause of such a tragedy.

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Knowledge checks to see what I, well, know :)

Arcana: (1d20+11)[18]
History: (1d20+11)[15]
Perception: (1d20+8)[14]

[Tegu8788]

Calder - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Moving forward in a crouched manner, while slightly relaxing his pose as the danger appears to have passed. Looking at the carnage and recalling the previous occurrence of this kind of damage, he stops short of the dark box. "I don't think it would be too wise for any o' us to try and open that box there. I'm starting to think Van didn't cause what we saw earlier. Well, not on purpose, anyway. I think it's best we try and get this thing secured, and away from people if possible." He reaches out with his mind, trying to learn anything he like, like he once did as a Templar seeking out Defilers.

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Arcana to see if the box is cursed or has a magic trap on it to cause the damage, as opposed to it being something contained within that caused the death-boom (1d20+7)[12]

[Meltheim]

All - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

"What the hell . . .?" the guard from the gate asks, lifting the brim of his helmet with his spear. "This place has been . . . de . . def. . . defiled!" he stutters out. Looking around frantically, he puts his hands on the edges of his mouth and shouts "DEFILER! DEFIIIIILER!" in a call of alarm. From outside the small building you can hear other people echoing the cry.

The guard looks at Eveve and Damakos and gestures for them to move away, "You've come at a bad time. It seems we have a Defiler in our midst. Please, away from the chest. Who knows what dark magics have been sent to punish us."

[SandDemon]

Lazam

Coughing over the stench, Lazam walks forward to the chest despite the order to stand far from it. "The only travesty is that this was stolen from the halflings of the Forest Ridge." He stands defiantly and proudly...despite his short stature...and claims with a puffed up sense of bravado. "This is the property of the Oracle and my people. It destroyed the lives of petty thieves and any who dare touch it against their will bring upon themselves death." Lazam seems extremely adamant as he nonchalantly kicks a severed arm on the ground for effect.

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Diplomacy Check: (1d20+5)[21]

[Felhammer]

Damakos

The Tiefling's heart skips a beat as they utter that vitriolic word... "Defiler." Such a dirty word... A word thrown around like candy by these moronic goons. Anything that goes wrong, they always blame "Defilers." They cast Damakos' kind in the worst light. The Tiefling tries to put on his best "horrified traveler" look but, to be honest, Damoks' only gives it a half hearted effort. He is far more concerned with how to contain that magic and steal it from these goons.

The Wizard's head practically falls off its hinges when he hears Lazam's deceit. A coy smile crosses the Tiefling's face as he thinks, "What a cunning little man..."

[Tegu8788]

Calder - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

Seeing things reaching a crossroads, Calder steps forward, putting on his most charming smile, and despite his armor, jams his trident into the ground and adopts a quite civil pose, one he often saw used back in his Templar days when the Nobles would "debate" matters.

"Actually sirs, we know exactly what dark magic this is. You see, we are an extraction team. Rikus sent us after a powerful artifact, a splinter of the very weapon he used to kill Kalak. This artifact was to be returned to the halflings, as a peace offering. You see, when the spear was obtained, it was not under the best of circumstances. As such, it was decided to return the artifact and appease the halfings. We certainly would not want a horde of them sweeping down from the mountain to recapture it.

However, before the artifact could be returned, it was stolen. Rikus tasked me with following the House of Stel in hopes to retrieve it and return it to it's rightful owners. They were intercepted by elves, and while we skirmished with them, the elves ran off with the box you see before you. He have tracked them for several days, leading us here.

This is not the first time we have seen this pattern of destruction. One member of our party went ahead and we found his blade embedded in the ground at the center of an identical death spiral. The artifact inside the box you see is your Defiler. We are now prepared to transport the artifact back to the halfings.

That is, unless you think upsetting the man who killed Kalak and then having a horde of halfings storm down the mountainside is a wiser idea. Now, unless you happen to have a sanctioned wizard and representative from the halfings among you, and would rather have this highly dangerous artifact in the center of your populated area, I would suggest allowing us to complete our mission and send us on our way as quickly as possible. The choice is yours, of course."

He indicates himself, Damakos, and Lazam over the course of his speech. He paces slightly as he speaks, holding his left arm across his chest and resting his right elbow on it, rolling his wrist and occasionally stroking the red hair on his chin. At the end, he leans his head forward slightly, his eyebrows casting shadows over his face, the red facial tattoos lending to the gravity of his words. Calder plucks his trident from the ground with invisible force, returning it to his hand, in a neutral but firm grip.

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Knack For Success: +4 power bonus to next roll
Diplomacy to convince them to give us the box (1d20+9)[20]
And don't forget the racial +1 everyone else gets for Diplomacy checks. Even when I try to make non-charismatic characters, I do.

[Arthurian]

Van - [Iron Mines - Exterior]

"Damn it." Van curses, sounding a tad annoyed as he makes his way into the room. Behind him there seem to be a small path through the onlookers, who had parted for the warrior with but a glare. He had a sword in his hand but, unlike a pale yellow/white bone blade he had left behind to help the party find their way, this one was polished steal. A rare sight indeed, and more so was the script inscribed on the length of blade itself. 'Anausa' or 'Immortal' in the old tongue of Tyr. "You guys certainly took your time getting here didn't you? Guess it can't be helped..."

Van takes a quick look, scanning the elves to make sure they were all dead. The sight of the scorched circle spiraling outword within the now disheveled building was familiar to the warrior who briefly winced at the memory of the explosion that had knocked him unconscious and broken his old sword. Then he turns to the guard and says, "They're okay. They're with me."

Van sheathes his blade, the steal ringing for just a moment before it slipped into it's fine leather scabbard, and looks to the group now, giving them a glare that summed up a lot of what he was thinking. 'Better not make me regret vouching for you'.

OOC

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Hey there guys, Arillius here. Sort of. I forgot my password and which email I used for the old account. Good to see you all again!